Among the finds in Greater Bukit Brown are the 'lost' 1915 tomb of a private, and one linked to PM Lee

By Melody Zaccheus, Heritage and Community Correspondent

Last month, tomb hunter Raymond Goh uncovered in Bukit Brown the grave of Mr Neo Chan Guan, the main contractor behind the national monument Chong Wen Ge.PHOTO: AZIZ HUSSIN FOR THE STRAITS TIMES

Behind landed properties in Trevose Place and unbeknown to most residents there, a wild forest has been safeguarding historic relics from the early 1900s.

Dense with overgrowth and crawling with insects, the slippery, hilly area houses the graves of early Singaporeans, such as the "lost" tomb of a young soldier who was with the Chinese Company of the Singapore Volunteer Infantry.

In January this year, tomb hunter and researcher Raymond Goh found the 1915 tomb of Pte Ho Siong Tong buried deep inside the forest.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission had inscribed on a stone slab at the Kranji War Memorial that the 22-year-old was buried at the "(Wayang Satu) Chinese Cemetery but whose tomb is now lost".

The forested area off Kheam Hock Road is near the expunged former Wayang Satu kampung.

The tomb is one of Mr Goh's significant finds at Bukit Brown and Greater Bukit Brown over the past two years. There are around 200,000 graves in the area and Mr Goh, 53, has surveyed several thousands over the past 12 years.

Speaking to The Straits Times, he said: "Greater Bukit Brown has a wealth of stories of early Singaporeans waiting to be uncovered, and we need help from the authorities and the clans to step in to rediscover these stories so we can understand our roots better."

Mr Goh's discovery reveals fuller details of Pte Ho's life. The tombstone states that the soldier had died on June 12, 1915, and that his tomb was erected by non-commissioned officers and men from the company which he had served.

According to Bukit Brown volunteer Peter Pak, 44, a senior project manager at the National Library Board, Pte Ho's life was also detailed in the seminal book One Hundred Years' History Of The Chinese In Singapore by Song Ong Siang.

Pte Ho, who was accorded military honours at his funeral on June 14, had been one of the guards at Kallang Reservoir when he was reported missing on June 11.

Behind landed properties in Trevose Place, a wild forest houses the “lost” tomb of a young soldier who was with the Chinese Company of the Singapore Volunteer Infantry. In January, tomb hunter Raymond Goh found the 1915 tomb of Pte Ho Siong Tong buried deep inside the forest. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission had inscribed on a stone slab at the Kranji War Memorial that the 22-year-old was buried at the “(Wayang Satu) Chinese Cemetery but whose tomb is now lost”.

PHOTO: AZIZ HUSSIN FOR THE STRAITS TIMES

The book states that his "boots and cap were discovered on the edge of the reservoir, and two days later the body was found floating".